15,000 people take part in torch-lit march in Ukraine's Kiev to commemorate nationalist leader

A Ukrainian nationalist carries a portrait of Stepan Bandera, founder of the Ukrainian rebel army that fought against the Soviet regime, during a rally in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. The rally was organized on the occasion of Bandera's birth anniversary.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
(The Associated Press)

KIEV, Ukraine – About 15,000 people have taken part in a torch-lit march across Ukraine's capital Kiev to commemorate their leader Stepan Bandera.

Bandera is a deeply divisive figure in Ukraine, glorified by many in Western Ukraine as a freedom fighter and dismissed by millions in Eastern and Southeastern Ukraine as a traitor in the Soviet Union's struggle against the occupying German army.

Kiev has been the scene of massive pro-European protests for more than a month, triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to ditch a key deal with the European Union in favor of building stronger ties with Russia.

The nationalists are also pro-Europe, but the march was separate to the protest encampment in central Kiev.